Pirate Pants Tutorial (a.k.a. bandana Pants)

Here is a quick and dirty tutorial for making summer pants for your kids. Once you have be basic concept you can make these for just about anyone and just about any size. I will give some info on that at the end of the Tute.

My kids love these pants and wear them all summer. I have found that they fit about a large 3T to about a size 10 or so. My 11 (almost 12) year old can still wear hers but she is super skinny.

Materials

2 large bandanas (smaller ones would make pants for a toddler)
Thread.


Construction

1. Place two bandanas right sides together.

2. Fold them in half and just out a J shaped piece from one outside corner. The J size I use for most children is about 3" by 9". I came up with that number by measuring their crotch from the top of their bum to their belly button and then dividing that number in half and added a couple of inches. I placed the measuring tape on the fabric in a J shape and evened it up and decided that was my J shape. (sorry not very scientific but it works for me).

I had a little pirate waiting for the pants. Tutorials take oh so long when you are 6 and are waiting for some hot new pants to run around in.

3. Take each leg piece now and fold it in half with right sides together and sew up the inside seams. Since the bandanas are already hemmed you just need to make sure you keep that edge even.

4. Turn one leg right side out and slip it "inside" the other leg. Stitch the crotch seam.



5. Turn down the waist about 1 1/2" and press. Sew a casing 1" from the outside edge. Leave an opening to run the elastic in. Sew another casing 1/2" from top edge leaving a hole for the elastic in the same place as the first. Run two pieces of elastic through and secure them and finish off the seam. (measure around the waist and cut the elastic to fit. You can "test the elastic first around them and see how snug you want it.)



You are done!!! One Happy Pirate. These shorts will fit from mid calf to the knee depending on how tall your child is. They are long pants for my 3 year old and shorts for my 11 year old.

You can also make these pants with just fabric if you don't have bandannas. Two fat quarters make pants for a little kid. You can also make these for larger people by using yardage. You want to measure around the widest part and divide that by 2 and add four or five inches. That is how wide each piece of fabric needs to be to go around the waist, hips and legs of a larger person.
Play with the measurements and see what you come up with. You will need to finish the top edge of the pants with a zig-zag or serger and will have to help the pants.

Have fun and please post your pictures in the " Sewing with Mama Byrd Tutorials" flickr group.

Neapolitan Skirt

Thanks to a bug my friend Michelle put in my head a few days ago, I came up with a nifty thrifty, easy peasy skirt pattern to make multi sized, double sided skirts for my girls. The pattern makes skirts from size 6 mos to girls size 14 or larger if you wanted.

Here are the first three I made.


Side 1


Side 2

I am working up the instructions this weekend with illustrations and am seeking out some handy dandy pattern testers to see if someone else can follow my instructions.
It really is so simple to make, just 3 or 4 steps and you have a lovey, sturdy, double sided skirt with no hem. I really hate sewing hems and gathering.

I would love to hear what you think! Please leave a comment.


*** Edited*****
The Neapolitan Skirt Pattern is for sale in my Etsy Shops Here and Here.

Twirly Whirly Tie Dye Dresses

I did tie dye this week. I love to tie dye. I made up these 15 little dresses (12 mos to 4T) for fun this week. Kara asked me to make 2 new ones for my niece Emily because she wore her other one out. I also needed to make one for baby Claire so I just had fun making a bunch to choose from.
I considered doing a tutorial for these but that is really complicated and I just didn't have time this week. I also had to dye fabric for and sew up a quilt top to display at a local quilt store for a class I will be teaching there. If anyone is in the area and is interested, I am teaching Low Immersion Dying at The Country Store on I 44-Exit 18A- Outer Road West Carthage, Missouri.
The Class is $45 and that includes 10 fat quarters of fabric that you will dye in 10 colors, all the supplies, and a fun lesson in dyeing. If you are interested, e-mail me.
Enough of that !!
Here are some more pictures of the dresses.

These are some of my favorites.

I can send you to the instructions I used to make these. I have made these in the past but this time I followed Rowena's instructions.
The dyeing is my own thing. I have been tie dyeing for about 20 years now and have come up with this method based on many trials and experiments. The colors in these dresses are bright but softened in the lines. To me it is an impression of little girls. The colors are almost dancing and twirling on their own.
I have put some of the dresses in my Etsy Shop. If you want to see more of them, go take a look.

Halloween Early

We live out in the country so trick-or-treating isn't really very do-able. As a result, I am afraid that we tend to over do it for the kids for Halloween. The school has a party day, the PTO has a festival, the High School provides a safe spot, the church group get together and have a dinner and a trunk-or-treat, and the communities near by have several Halloween parties going on. I used to feel bad that the kids didn't get to do the whole trick-or-treating thing like I did as a kid but have found that they make off with a bigger haul than my husband or I ever did. LOL! I do try to limit what they get and usually end of thowing away a lot of it. I also funnel a lot of it into the treat box for good behavior and special jobs.
I do try to make the kids fun costumes each year. This year, with the help of my friend Michelle, I made some really beautiful costumes for my girls. They are all Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit fans. My oldest wanted to be Aowen from Rohan and the other two wanted to be Hobbits. The costumes were really fun to make and I saved us big bucks. Each costume would have cost me $125 if I hadn't made them myself. They were really fun to do. They are very excited about wearing them to their class parties.


I am glad I won't have to be sewing anyone into their costumes right before the party.